Death of elderly British woman raises Los Gallardos fire death toll to 13

Almeria fire

The Guardia Civil have suspended search operations after three days of combing the area, although there are still ten people missing

Miguel Cárceles

The death of a 93-year-old British woman with severe burns has raised the Los Gallardos (Almeria) fire death toll to 13. The Guardia Civil, who have already suspended search operations, don't expect any more victims.

Early on Sunday afternoon, the search operation, comprised of around 100 people, which had been conducting continuous sweeps of the fire-affected areas for three days, concluded, with no further discoveries other than some trapped animals, which were rescued and taken to safety.

The meticulous search, conducted on foot in areas that had been considered hotspots, was supported by canine units and drones. It focused particularly on destroyed houses and ravines to ensure that no one who had not yet been located was left unfound.

Related story

• Almeria fire

  • • The 12 unidentified bodies are now at the institute of legal medicine in Almeria. Their condition is so deteriorated that in many cases it has not been possible to determine their sex or age with any certainty. After extracting their genetic profiles, specialists from the Guardia Civil are working to find possible relatives to compare the genetic lines.

      Currently, eight missing persons reports have been filed, although emergency services are monitoring 23 cases of people who have not yet been located.

      "The Guardia Civil are doing a great job with the DNA analysis," Moreno said, referring to the work carried out by the biology department of the criminalistics service in Madrid, where the samples were sent.

      Moreno noted that these are "slow" procedures, especially given the condition of some of the bodies. There are, however, some leads regarding their possible identities.

      А French man identified one of the victims as his wife, a teacher who had arrived in Bédar two days earlier to spend a holiday at her husband's family home. Also among the victims is a 63-year-old Belgian entrepreneur, Stanislas Verdonckt. His son has said that he was speaking to his father over the phone when the fire broke out. According to the victim's family, Verdonckt was trying to escape the flames without anyone having given him any instructions on what to do.

      Four hospitalised

      Four people, all of them between the ages of 48 and 61, remain hospitalised in Seville, following the death of the 93-year-old woman. Their condition, although with serious injuries, remains stable.

      The approximately 1,000 evacuees have gradually started to return home, with he authorisation of the regional government. First were the residents of Alfaix, a hamlet of about 300 inhabitants in the municipality of Los Gallardos. On Sunday afternoon, the residents of Bédar returned in stages.

      Some people, out of fear, have preferred to remain in their second homes or in the homes of relatives.

      Explore the main Andalucía regional news section